Hyundai Reveals Heavily Changed Sonata

Hyundai debuts in Seoul its heavily updated 2018 Sonata, expected to be unveiled in the U.S. in April at the New York auto show and available simultaneously.

The new styling brings the Sonata’s appearance more in line with that of the well-received current Elantra compact car and further departs from the heavily sculpted look of the early Sonatas. The new offering gets a heavier cascading grille, meant to emulate flowing hot steel, according to its designers.

There are three wheel designs offered: a standard 17-in. 3-spoke design and two new 18-in. offerings.

The increased heft of the rear end is achieved by elevating the trunk lid so it balances with the lowered hoodline, giving the Sonata a 4-footed, non-sloping side profile.

In Korea, the 4-cyl. powertrain lineup substantially is unchanged, featuring a 1.7L diesel, a 2.0L with continuously variable valve lift and 1.6L and 2.0L turbocharged mills with direct-injection. The 2.0L turbo is mated to Hyundai’s new 8-speed automatic transmission and the other engines are matched with 6-speed automatics.

The 2.0L turbo will be available in North America and Australia and other select markets. Hyundai says the Sonata with the 2.0L turbo hits 62 mph (100 km/h) from a dead stop in 7.5 seconds and can accelerate from 50-74 mph (80 to 120 km/h) in 4.8 seconds. Its top speed is 149 mph (240 km/h).

The 2.0L Sonata also has differentiated styling, with a mesh-chrome grille instead of the cascading grille feature of other models. Additionally, it sports a black front bumper and the headlamp bezels and side-mirror casings also are finished in black.

In Korea, the Sonata has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility as a standard feature. High-beam assist, dynamic bending lights, blindspot detection, rear-cross-traffic alert, lane-departure and lane-keep functions are included.

Sonata sales in Korea fell 24.2% last year, to 82,203 units, steeper than market leader Hyundai’s overall sales decline in its home country of 8.9%, WardsAuto data shows

In the U.S., where Hyundai sales rose 1.7% last year, Sonata sales slipped 6.5% to 199,416, reflecting Americans’ waning interest in midsize sedans compared to red-hot compact and midsize CUVs.